Minutes of INTER-AGENCY MEETING Beirut, 3 October 2014

Minutes of INTER-AGENCY MEETING Beirut, 3 October 2014

Meeting Location Chair person

UNHCR-Lea Bldg-1st floor conference room Kerstin Karlstrom Senior Inter-Agency Coordinator

Minutes Prepared by

Lara Techekirian – Inter-agency Coordination Associate

Purpose of Meeting

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Meeting Time Meeting Duration

10:00 A.M 2h

Registration Update Protection Update and Recent Development Arsal Update Progress on Planning for 2015 AOB

Summary of discussions and action points 1. Registration Update by Rana Ksaifi-Registration Officer-UNHCR   

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Total registered as of 30 September 2014:1,173,617 with 2 day increase in waiting period: 23 days 5% decrease from August due to data clean up that led to deactivation, some 42,500 individuals were verified and 56,000 inactivated after verification Low Registration numbers since May due to: o Expansion of verification portfolio o Staff involved in other tasks o Significant increase in number of new Iraqi asylum seekers o High now show rate in Aarsal o Government policies and Ramadan o Border Restrictions August Thematic Registration Questionnaire was developed (1,225 HH Surveyed)-Theme: Access to Education and Information on Education- for further info access the web portal. Planning figures for 2014/2015: 1.2 end 2014 and 1.5 end 2015.

2. Protection Update and Recent Development by David Welin- Senior Protection Coordinator-UNHCR o        

Border crossings are officially open, but with heavy restrictions Number of Syrians entering Lebanon decreased significantly in September Reports suggest criteria for entry are applied by border authorities; No clear communicative criteria has been shared UNHCR is working with GOL to develop criteria for humanitarian exceptions 2015 Planning Process: To set new initiatives in order to deliver protection interventions in sustainable and cost effective way Improve Clear Criteria on how to prioritize Individual case management Centralized repository for protection incidents - including evictions, security raids and retaliatory acts Develop Mediation interventions and capacity building strategy of local NGOs.

1 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – Lebanon Branch Office, Ramlet el-Baida Lea Bldg, Cheikh Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah Str, P.O. Box 11-7332 Tel.: +961 1 849 201 Fax: +961 1 849 211 E-mail: [email protected]

3. Arsal Update by Maeve Murphy- Senior Field coordinator-Bekaa-UNHCR          

Access to Arsal remains restricted since early-August clashes Developments in Arsal have led to over 30% of the refugee population to leave the town To date 262 families were recorded to change their addresses 25 Sep; Raids have been conducted by LAF on refugee residences - 8 IS and 1 CS were impacted by the raids; the estimated affected population is 4,534 individuals Reports indicate that between 300 and 500 men and minors were arrested-Most of those have been released following rapid background check conducted in the 8th Brigade’s headquarters in Laboue Outbreak of Hepatitis A Virus - at least 250 people were afflicted - 40 Cases were reported by MoPH As of 1 Oct, a total of 21 sites/locations in central and north Bekaa are affected by LAF evictions Total number of tents affected by the evictions: 845 ( 288HH already evicted): -The total number of impacted refugees is 5,500 Capacity to respond to growing evictions issue highly limited from shelter perspective Contingency planning discussions have taken place.

4. Progress on Planning for 2015 by Kerstin Karlstrom- Senior Inter-Agency Coordinator- UNHCR  

Overview of the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP),Objectives and Budget Question was raised concerning AI to be re-opened, agencies to consult sector leads

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Action Point: o To revisit the Budgets- sectors to receive data and sit with core group to look at the appeal and check duplication across sectors/Double counting UN/NGO/GoL and Carry overs and funds already received reported-Better align with government priorities/ Streamline activities under outputs o Fields to Verify submissions and communicate through sector leads in BO o BO to revise narratives and submissions as required o To Develop a detailed timeline for sector leads with sequence of events and deadlines

5. AOB 

WFP announced that they have received funding confirmation that enables them to provide a full voucher (30$ value) to targeted refugees for October. The confirmation also covers some 40% of November commitments. Further details will follow through meetings, SMS, and posters over the next week.

Attachments Document IA Presentation

Location http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/admin/download.php?id=7173

2 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – Lebanon Branch Office, Ramlet el-Baida Lea Bldg, Cheikh Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah Str, P.O. Box 11-7332 Tel.: +961 1 849 201 Fax: +961 1 849 211 E-mail: [email protected]